Chicken Parm Meatballs

Posted October 10, 2012 by Jenny

Unless I’m out to dinner, or unless there’s a birthday to celebrate, there’s not much room in my life right now for high-concept food. I love the idea of mashed potato ghosts for Halloween, and the artisanal Mallomars that came with the check at last weekend’s anniversary dinner was definitely good for a giggle. Even if it hadn’t been recorded in my dinner diary, the “ice cream cone” starter I had at the French Laundry in 1998 — a masterfully tiny homemade wafer cone filled with creme fraiche and topped with salmon tartare “sprinkles” — will stay with me for a long time. But you guys know us by now. You know that, for the most part, our default mode is simple, un-fussy meals that are fresh, can be put together fast, and don’t require any winking when served. (Any one getting flashbacks here of Charles Grodin and his “honest” dinner in The Heartbreak Kid?) But every now and then, an idea presents itself that I’d be crazy not to try. Last week Phoebe reminded me that I had been promising meatballs on the family dinner table and had somehow failed to deliver. At the same time, in the same breath, Abby reminded me that I had been promising Chicken Parm (page 148 in my book) on the family dinner table and had somehow failed to deliver. In an attempt to remedy my staggeringly deprived children as well as cut off any sibling tussling at the pass, I decided to please them both with a single high-concept, low-maintenance meatball meal. “It’s like Chicken Parm married Meatballs and had a baby,” I told them, before wondering why on earth I would ever open up such a weird concept with an 8- and 10-year-old. Well, either way, King Solomon would’ve been proud.

Chicken Parm Meatballs

This makes 12 large-ish meatballs. My best self would’ve let the meatballs freeze as shown here (after initial 15-minute bake), then frozen them for future Tumultuous Tuesday use, on which day, my best self would’ve transferred the frozen meatballs to the fridge in the morning, then heated them up in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes (before proceeding with broiling) upon her return later that night. While she was at it, my best self would’ve also ordered all the Halloween costumes and thrown away the sad, dried-out mums in the backyard that have been there since last fall and that perennially remind her of her worst self.

Preheat oven to 400°F, setting rack to upper third part of oven. In a large bowl, using your hands, gently mix together first 11 ingredients. Shape into lacrosse-ball size balls (that would be somewhere between golf and tennis) and place a few inches from each other on a foil-lined baking sheet. In a small bowl, mix one spoonful of your pizza sauce with olive oil. Brush this mixture on top of each meatball. Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove meatballs from oven, spoon some sauce on top of each meatball, and cover each with a slice of cheese. Broil another 3 to 5 minutes until cheese is bubbly and golden. Heat remaining sauce in a small saucepan.

Serve meatballs with a dollop of sauce and a raw Tuscan kale salad that has been shredded and tossed with shallots, Pecornio, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

If you liked this recipe, I’m guessing you’ll also love the 80+ other recipes in Dinner: The Playbook, from whence those meatballs came.

Meanwhile, how much do I love this review of Dinner: A Love Story from Food52? My favorite quote: “Rosenstrach’s book and blog are something very rare in the genre of family dinner: they inspire neither homicidal nor suicidal impulses.”

I used the recipe for the chicken meatballs and it was absolutely delicious…the little bit of lemon zest (and a squeeze of the fresh lemon juice) brightened up the flavor and made them really, really amazing. I added a bit of herbes de Provence with the fresh parsley and skipped the tomato sauce for a fresh baby spinach salad with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella balls, red onion in rings, a simple dressing (http://www.kindred-kitchen.com/recipes/recipe-redux-herbs-de-provence-salad-dressing/), served with chilled white wine, and crispy bread. Honestly, this is the best recipe for ground chicken that I’ve ever tried…

Oh – those look good. I made some turkey meatballs with leftover french bread and some basil the a few weekends ago – then made this AWESOME bacon marinara to put over them. There was so much marinara left it is going into my turkey lasagna this Friday night. 🙂

It should be noted that you can probably majorly up the delicious factor by adding a little chopped pork product to the meatball mix (pancetta, prosciutto) but if you’re going to do that, my feeling is that you might as well just make regular old fat-heavy beef/pork/veal meatballs.

So, I call my local butcher, tough guy from NYC, and he says grinding up a few chicken breasts for me is against the LAW. Seriously? Apparently yes… USDA says no way Jose… and they need a whole separate facility to do it in.

I always get my at whole food store. My local Whole Food always carry it but if they out of it, I can always grab a pack or two and ask them to make it for next. The only watch out is if you buy organic chicken, it will be contrami aged as the machines is share with non-organic meat as well. If you are ok with slightly contraminate then Whole Foodcan help you. Otherwise, run the food processor in you kitchen would give u the ground chicken.

I grind my own chicken. If you cut it into 1 inch cubes (or thereabouts =) and freeze them for about two hours, the chicken becomes firm enough to grind in your food processor. I have the meatballs chilling in my fridge and I can’t wait till I can cook them up for dinner! They smell sooooo nummy <=o)

I made something similar this summer for a sliders party. Chicken parmesan sliders, with a mozzarella ball stuffed inside, coated in bread crumbs. The bread crumbs made for a toasty crust when grilled. Topped with marinara, parmesan and a leaf of basil and served on a ciabatta bun. They were a hit!

This seems like the perfect recipe for World Pasta Day! My oldest daughter, who is not a fan of beef, even agreed to try the chicken parmesan meatballs with her favorite pasta – penne. Thanks for helping us mix up our pasta night!

Thanks for the yummy recipe! I am making it now 🙂 Do I set my pan on the third shelf from the top of the oven or bottom? I have 6 shelves, one puts it closer to the top and the other closer to the bottom :-/ Silly question I am sure.

Made these for dinner tonight with a few modifications. Used ground turkey since that’s what I had on hand, left out the lemon zest since hubby refuses to eat anything with lemon in it, and used more parmesan to top them since I didn’t have any mozzarella. They were a BIG hit! Even the cranky two year old couldn’t resist. The leftovers will be lunch tomorrow and I have a feeling they’ll be even better then. Thanks for the great recipe!!! Found it on Pinterest, by the way.

Just wanted to say – have now made these 3 times since you first posted, and they are perfect every time. Definitely one of our family favorites (along with your chili, chicken & orzo soup, butternut squash soup, stromboli…the list goes on and on).

I’m going to try these tonight but just want to be sure the oven cook times are correct. I’m always extremely nervous about undercooked meat, so 15 minutes at 400 degrees, then broil for another 3 to 5 and that’s it?

These are awesome! I made these tonight for the fam and they were a hit with everyone. My kids even commented about how good they were – and they can be a hard sell. Clean plates all around! Thanks for the receipe!

After having these pinned for at least 6 months, I finally made them last week for my hubby and me. I detest fennel seeds, so I omited them completely. Rather than making a meatball, I made more of a hockey puck sized patty and fried them similar to a hamburger patty, then topped with homemade marinara and a little shredded mozzarella. Hubby loved them so much he asked when we were having them again!

These look REALLY good. I’ve had them pinned for a while and haven’t made them yet, too many yummy recipes to try. 🙂 On the plan for this month.

I was going through my pins and thought I pinned this more than once, until I noticed that the other 2!! copied your photo and text but didn’t link back here, thought I’d give you a heads up in case you were not aware.

Made these for dinner last night and they were absolutely amazing! I already sent the link around to family and friends. Next time I make them I am going to try sautéeing the onions and garlic first but this recipe is so simple and delicious!

Made these for supper tonight: YUM! They are definitely going into a regular rotation. I am hoping these will be good for freezer cooking, too. I did change the fennel for basil. We aren’t really fennel fans here. I made spaghetti squash on the side and it was awesome. Thanks for a great dinner.

Simply incredible. I used a Nija to grind the chicken and used large chicken thighs for my own ground chicken. I tasted one before putting on the sauce and cheese and couldnt help but eat the whole tray without the cheese and sauce. I will have to make them again soon to try them with the sauce 🙂

I have to say, these are now my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE meatball EVER!!!! I am so picky with turkey and chicken meatballs, bc most are either too bland or feel over herbed (and I do like herbs and good flavor!)…these are just PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT. Definitely going in my regular rotation, and I’m sharing your recipe with all my cooking friends – thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!!

Made this for dinner tonight and it was a HIT! Definitely will make over and over again. Next time I’ll cook the onions and garlic a bit before hand and going the fennel and definitely make a triple batch to freeze! Thanks!

I guess I’m late to this party but I got here as soon as I could! Checked your books out of the library and need to purchase. Last night I made the chicken and artichokes with mustard cream sauce–YUM! and this recipe tonight–DOUBLE YUM! Both keepers! Thank you!

Have made these several times since finding the recipe on Pinterest. Since we are not fans of fennel and I don’t always have a lemon handy to zest, I leave those two things out. Sliced provolone or mozzeralla cheese both work well. Freezes wonderfully for another night. Have used ground chicken and ground turkey interchangeably without difference in taste. Family tested and approved by adults and kids alike.

I tried these and they are very good. A few suggestions for what we liked (not suggesting original recipe wasn’t good). For those wondering how/where to get ground chicken, I recommend grinding it yourself in your food processor. I used Costco chicken thighs, trimmed the excess fat and cut into chunks. I then ran it in batches through an ordinary Cuisinart food processor. I used chicken thighs because the flavor is good and all white meat could get dry, but I’ve also used a mix of thighs and breast before and chicken breast only which has turned out fine. I just think that this way, I know what was ground up in the meat and I’ve found it tastes a LOT better than the ground stuff from the regular grocery store. We do not have a whole foods so maybe theirs is fine. I also found the lemon zest to be a bit much even though each time I have cut back on the amount, it still produces a rather strong taste. Maybe ok for some but my husband and daughter (kindly) mentioned that it was too much for them. I would like to say thank you for this wonderful blog. I have tried many of your recipes and think they are great. I also love your writing style. My husband even reads the blog sometimes (and he is not a cook!)

So I accidentally forgot to add the parm cheese into the meat before I baked (I know, I know.) and I didn’t have egg, so I substituted quinoa in for the egg. I also did half hemp seed/half bread crumbs. DELICIOUS! Taste more like beef meatballs than chicken parm they way I made them. Thank you for the gist of the recipe

So I accidentally forgot to add the parm cheese into the meat before I baked (I know, I know.) and I didn’t have egg, so I substituted quinoa in for the egg. I also did half hemp seed/half bread crumbs. DELICIOUS! Taste more like beef meatballs than chicken parm they way I made them. Thank you for the gist of the recipe

Just made these, they are wonderful! My husband had his with spaghetti sauce and pasta. I had them with butter & Parmesan pasta. Loved them. Very easy to make on a weeknight. Recipe is adaptable, I left out the fennel seeds and lemon zest, added more garlic and onion. Used spaghetti sauce instead of pizza sauce. Will be making them again!

These feel so far from healthy, what a treat! I didn’t have pizza sauce, so used a jarred pasta sauce (tomato basil) and subbed out the fennel (we don’t care for it) for a herb and garlic spice mix. Served up with a green salad, steamed green beans (with a little garlic and parmesan), and roasted baby potatoes, these little meatball wonders were a perfect mid-week meal. I would actually serve them for a special occasion, they really are that good! Thanks for the inspiration – I really love to cook, but sometimes just need something new to try. Score!

I made these meatballs according to the actual recipe which were excellent but was a little confused when I first clicked on the site the ingredients are different than the recipe. I would highly recommend making these so very tasty.

We love these meatballs! I have made them probably a dozen times, and am just done making a quadruple batch!! Going to have some tonight, then freeze the rest for meals on other nights that are busy. As I’m taking them out of the oven, they smell so delicious, that I just had to leave a reply to let you all know. Definitley a must in your meal rotation!

I will make these meatballs again and again. Everyone enjoyed them, even the pickiest eater. I often have trouble finding natural or organic ground chicken . I usually find ground turkey in my store. I will seek it out know. I like the texture of the ground chicken better. The one I used was 94% lean. Thanks for the great recipe which I’ve had pinned forever! Clearly, I waited too long to make it!

My husband made these for us and they turned out amazing. I had purchased ground turkey vs. ground chicken as it was on sale. The meatballs were delicious and moist. I forgot to buy mozzarella but had ricotta on hand and it paired fabulously. I thought the lemon would be weird, on the contrary it added such a bright, vibrancy to the dish. My husband mentioned this modification he would make: 1″ meatballs vs. lacrosse-sized. We have a 1″ cookie scoop and used that to make symmetrical balls. The dish was lovely, we will not only make again, but also be very likely to serve to company. Thanks!

I just want you to know that I started making these last year and my 5 kids fell in LOVE. They insisted that these enter the regular rotation. Yesterday, a friend and I bought enough ingredients to make 180 of these things so we could freeze them and have them ready for “one of those days”. I love you for this!